Turret indexing means



June 19, 1951 SED'GWICK 2,557,149

I TURRET INDEXING MEANS Filed Jan. 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR;'l aezi fl. fleajqzaz'c/f/ June 19, 1951 R, K, SEDGWICK 2,557,149

TURRET INDEXING 11511115 Filed Jan. 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.2 05671 A. 156 99612;

Patented June 19, 1951 runner INDEXING MEANS Robert K. Sedgwick, OakPark, 111., assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, 111., acor-'-' poration of New Jersey Application January 28, 1949, Serial No.73,431

11 Claims. (01. 1s 1s) This invention relates to hydraulic presses andmore particularly to a turret type press having a novel mechanism forindexing the press turret.

The turrets of presses, such as molding presses, have conventionallybeen indexed by various means which have been unsatisfactory from aviewpoint of economy and maintenance. For example, devices of the typecomprising anv hydraulic motor with a brake and latch pin aresatisfactory from a standpoint of accuracy but are expensive and involvehigh maintenance costs due to frequent breakage'of latch pins. For thisreason another type of indexing device has been utilized comprising anelectric motor and a brake. However, as will bereadily understood bythose skilled in the art, such a device-is not satisfactory whereaccuracy is required.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to devise a novelindexing device of the abovedescribed type which may be economicallymanufactured and is capable of long life in service without thenecessity of frequent inspection and repair.

A more specific object of the invention is to devise an indexingmechanism which is accurate and capable of shockless operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatically operatedindexing device which may be conveniently connected to a shop air line.I

Still another object of the invention is to devise an indexing mechanismwhich may be simply and quickly preadjusted to facilitate the setting upof a press preparatory to operation thereof.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from a consideration of the following specification andthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an by- Figure is a wiringdiagram illustrating the electrical system for automatically operatingthe pneumatic motors of the indexing mechanism.

Describing the invention in detail and referring first to Figure l, aconventional turrettype press is illustrated including a bed 2supporting an hydraulic cylinder 4 by means of three columns 6,

8, and I0, the column 6 and the bed 2 being broken .away to clarify theconstruction. The columns are adapted for reception in the usual mannerwith complementary openings (not shown) in a platen l2 operated by a ram[4 reciprocal within the cylinder 4.

The column l0 also affords rotatable support for a turret I6 which ismounted on a conventional bearing I8 and is adapted to carry a pluralityof molds or other work-supporting means to be selectively registeredwith the platen I2'by indexing of the turret, as hereinafter described.

According to the invention, the turret is indexed by a device, generallydesignated 20. As

best seen in Figures 3 and '4, the, indexing device 20 comprises a frame22 having a bearing portion 24 affording a journal for a shaft 26 keyedto a crank arm 28 pivotally connected as at 30 to com necting rods 32and 34. The connecting rod 32 is pivotally connected at 36 to acrosshead 38 reciprocal within a guide channel 40 of the frame 22, andthe crosshead 38 is operatively connected to a piston rod 42 of a doubleacting piston 44 reciprocal within a cylinder 46 mounted in anyconvenient manner on the, frame 22.

The connecting rod 34 is pivotally connected at 48 to a crosshead 50reciprocal within a guide channel 52 in the frame, and the crosshead 50is operatively connected to a piston rod 54 of a double acting piston 56reciprocal within a cylinder 58. The cylinder 58 is provided with a pairof slidably fitted annular rings 60 and 62 and a pair of annular packingrings 64 and 66 defining the ends of a centering chamber 68, and theends of the piston 56 are provided with shoulders I0 and I2 engageablewith the respective rings 60 and 62 in the centered or neutral positionof the piston 56. The cylinder 58is provided with chambers" and I6 atthe ends of the piston 56. In the centered position of the piston 56,the rings 60 and 62 are seated against shoulders 11 and I8 within thecylinder 58.

Compressed air is supplied to the indexing device 20 by means of a shopair line having a branch 82 connected to the chamber 68. Branch lines 84and 86, connected to the chambers I4 and I6 respectively, are opened andclosed byconventional shut off valves 88 and 90 respectively, operatedby solenoids 92 and 94 respectively.

Theair line 80 isalso provided with branch" the cylinder 46 at one sideof the piston 44 and the branch line 98 is connected to an advancechamber I 08 at the opposite side of the piston 44.

It may be noted that each of the valves 86, 80, I00, and I02, whenactuated to open position by its associated solenoid, is adapted todeliver compressed air from the line 80 to the related motor chamber andis adapted upon deenergization of the associated solenoid to exhaust therelated motor chamber.

The crank shaft 26 is keyed to a pinion gear I I which, as best seen inFigure 1, meshes with a drive gear I I2 keyed to the underside of theturret I6. Also, as best seen in Figure 1, the bearing portion 24 of theframe 22 is Journaled within a bracket II4 secured in any convenientmanner to the bed 2 of the press.

The top of the pinion gear I I0 is preferably provided with a cam II6adapted to successively actuate a plurality of limit switch unitsillustrated as four in number and identified by the numerals 8, I20,I22, and I24. The switch units are mounted on a support disc I26 carriedby a rod I28 adjustably secured to an arm I30 by means of a set screwI32. The arm I30 may be secured in any desired manner to the column 6.It may be noted that the rod I28 may be adjusted rotatably and linearlyand is secured in any adjusted position by the set screw I32.

Referring now to Figure 5, the electrical operating system for the novelindexing mechanism will be described in connection with an operatingcycle of the mechanism. The cycle is initiated by closing a manuallyoperated switch I34 which closes a circuit between main lines I36 andI38 connected respectively to opposite terminals of a conventionalvoltage supply (not shown). This circuit is closed through a relay I40and through a normally closed switch 80, of the beforementioned switchunit II8. Energization of the relay I40 closes a relay switch I40westablishing a holding circuit through the relay and closes relayswitches I40b and I400 establishing a circuit through thebefore-mentioned solenoid 94 thereby moving valve 90 to open position,actuating the piston 56 to move the crank 28 off dead center. As thecrank moves off dead center, the cam II6 engages the switch unit I I8 toopen switch HM and closes a normally open switch II8b therebyestablishing a circuit through a relay I42 and breaking the circuitthrough the relay I40.

Energization of relay I42 closes a relay switch I420; therebyestablishing a holding circuit through the relay I42 which also closesrelay switches I42b and I420 establishing a circuit through thebefore-mentioned solenoid I06, which thus opens valve I02 to rotate thecrank 28 to dead center, 180 from its initial position. As the crankreaches dead center, the cam I I6 engages switch unit I20 opening anormally closed switch I20a and closing a normally open switch I201)thereby breaking the circuit through the relay I42 and establishing acircuit through a relay I44. Energization of relay I44 closes relayswitch I 44a establishing a holding circuit through the relay I44 andcloses relay switches H41) and I440 energizing the before-mentionedsolenoid 82, which opens its valve 88, thereby rotating the crank pastdead center and engaging the cam II6 with switch unit I22. The cam II6,upon engagement with unit I 22, opens a normally closed switch I22a andclosing a normally open switch I22b. As the switch I22a opens, thecircuit through the relay I44 is broken, and as the switch I22b closes,a circuit is established through 4 a relay I46 which closes relay switchI460 establishing a holdingcircuit through relay I46 which closes relayswitches I46!) and I463 to establish a circuit through the solenoid I04,which opens its valve I60, thereby rotating the crank 28 to its originalposition having completed a revolution of 360, whereupon the cam H6engages the before-mentioned switch unit I24 breaking the circuitthrough the switch switches I46!) and I460 open to deenergize thesolenoid I04 and complete the cycle.

It may be noted that after completion of each cycle, the crank 23 islocked on dead center, as illustrated in Figure 4, inasmuch as theconstant air pressure in the chamber 68 of the cylinder 58 centers thepiston 56 to hold the crank on dead center. Furthermore, it will beunderstood that any overtravel or backlash of the crank 28 is cushionedby the compressed air in the chamber 68 thereby insuring shocklessoperation of the indexing mechanism.

If desired, a normally open, manually operated switch may be substitutedfor the switch I20b so that the crank 28 will be locked on dead centerafter rotation through Thus the turntable I6 may be indexed in smallerincrements of rotation. It will also be readily apparent that byselecting any predetermined gear ratio between the pinion gear H0 andthe drive gear I22 and utilizing any desired number of switches to beactuated by the cam II6, the turret I6 may be indexed in any desiredincrements of rotational movement.

In setting up the press to align the successive work positions with thepress ram, the gear IIO may be opera-ted without actuating the indexingmechanism I20 by means of a stud I 48 secured to the press bed andreceived within an opening I50 (Figure 3) in a lug I 52 on the frame 22.A pair of adjusting nuts I54 are threaded on the stud I48, and by meansof these nuts, the entire frame 22 may be rotated to rotate the bearingportion 24 within the bracket I I4 thereby rotating the pinion gear IIOto preadjust the work positions of the turret I6. As best seen in Figure3, the crank shaft 26 and the bearing portion 24 of the frame 22 aresubstantially concentric, and the frame lug I52 is positioned at oneside of the bearing portion 24 whereby, as the lug I52 is moved towardor away from the bed 2 by means of the adjusting nuts I54, the bearingportion 24 is rotated in its bracket II4. Inasmuch as the crank 28 isnormally locked on its dead center position against movement relative tothe frame 22, as above described, rotation of the frame on its bearingportion 24 is effective to rotate the pinion gear IIO thereby actuatingthe turret I6 independently of the motor 44, 46.

I claim:

1. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powermachine, said mechanism comprising a gear system operatively connectedto the turret for rotating the same, a crank operatively connected tothe gear system for actuation thereof, a pneumatic motor including acylinder with advance and return chambers, a piston therein, and a rodconnected to the piston and to the crank for actuation of the latter,means for locking the crank on dead center comprising a second pneumaticmotor comprising a cylinder with a piston therein, spaced stopsintermediate the ends of the last-mentioned cylinder, a pair of pistonrings within the last-mentioned cylinder I46, whereuponrings defining anadvance chamber at one end of the last-mentioned cylinder, a returnchamber at the other endof the last-mentioned cylinder, and a centralchamber between the rings, the

last-mentioned piston being connected to the crank, and means forconstantly admitting pneumatic pressure fluid to the central chamberthereby urging the last-mentioned piston to neutral position whereat thecrank is on dead center, and means for moving the crank off dead centercomprising valve means for selectively admitting pneumatic fluid to andexhausting pneumatic fluid from the advance and return chambers of saidmotors.

2. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powerdevice, said mechanism comprising a frame carried by the device, areciprocating motor carried by the frame, a crank operatively connectedto the motor for actuation thereby, a gear system operated by the crankand connected to the turret for rotating the latter, anotherreciprocative motor connected to the crank and having a centeredposition whereat said crank is on dead center, said other motor havingadvance and return positions whereat said crank is off dead center,means for shifting said other motor to one of said advance or returnpositions, and means responsive to shifted position of said other motorfor automatically advancing the first-mentioned motor, then shifting theother motor to the other of said advance or return positionsthereof,then retracting the first-mentioned motor, and then actuating said othermotor to its centered position, to lock said crank on dead center.

3. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powermachine, said mechanism comprising a frame carried by the machine, acrank carried by the frame, means operatively connecting the crank tothe turret for rotating the latter in response to rotation of the crank,a reciprocating motor carried by the frame and operatively connected tothe crank for actuation thereof, and a locking device carried by theframe for locking the crank on dead center at the termination of eachstroke of the motor, said device comprising means for moving the crankto each side of dead center.

4. In an indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret of a power machine;the combination of a frame rotatably connected to the machine forrotation on an axis, means for rotating said frame on said axis and forlocking the frame in a predetermined rotational position, a crankcarried by the frame and rotatable relatively thereto substantially onsaid axis, means operatively connecting the crank to the turret forrotating the latter in response to rotation of the crank on said axis, areciprocating motor carried by the frame and operatively connected tothe crank for rotating the same, and a locking device carried by theframe for locking the crank on dead center, said locking devicecomprising means for moving the crank past dead center.

An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powermachine, said mechanism comprising a. frame carried by the machine, areciprocating (f motor carried by the frame, a crank connected to themotor, a gear system operated by the crank and operatively connected tothe turret for rotating the latter, and another reciprocating motoroperatively connected to the crank for actuation thereof, said othermotor comprising means for yieldingly biasing the first-mentioned motorand crank to dead center, and said other motor comprising means formoving the crank to each side of dead center. 6. In an indexingmechanism for a rotatable turret of a machine; the combination of asupport rotatably connected to the machine for rotational movementrelative thereto on an axis, a crank carried by the support for rotationrelative thereto on said axis, means carried by the support for rotatingthe crank and for locking the crank against rotation relative thereto,means operatively connecting the crank to the turret for rotation of thelatter in response to rotation of the crank, and means connected to themachine and support for adjustably rotating the latter on said axis.

- '7. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted toselectively register work pieces carried thereby with a working elementof a power device, said mechanism comprising a crank operativelyconnected to the turret for rotating the same, a reciprocating motoroperatively connected to the crank, and means for locking the crank ondead center at the end of each stroke of said motor, said locking meanscomprising a, reciprocating motor approximately perpendicular to thefirst-mentioned motor and operatively connected to the crank, saidsecond-mentioned motor having means for yieldingly biasing said crank todead center and having other means for moving said crank from deadcenter to accommodate actuation of said crank by the first-mentionedmotor.

8. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powerdevice, said mechanism comprising a crank operatively connected to theturret for rotating the same, a reciprocating motor operativelyconnected to the crank, and means for locking the crank on dead centerat the end of each stroke of said motor, said locking means comprising acylinder, a piston in said cylinder connected to the crank, spaced stopswithin the cylinder, piston rings slidably engaging the piston and thecylinder in fluid-tight engagement therewith, said rings beingengageable with said stops and with portions of the piston to center thelatter thereby locking the crank on dead center, chambers within thecylinder at opposite ends of the piston, and valve means for alternatelyadmitting pneumatic pressure fluid to and exhausting pneumatic pressurefluid from respective chambers the area between said rings being underconstant pneumatic pressure.

9. In an indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret of a machine; thecombination of a frame having a bearing portion rotatably connected tothe machine, a crank having an element concentric to said portion androtatably journaled therein, said crank being operatively connected tothe turret for rotating the same, means carried by the frame foroperating the crank, releasable means carried by the frame for lockingthe crank element against rotation in said bearing portion, and meansfor rotating the frame to rotate the turret independently of saidoperating means when said locking means are effective.

10. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powerdevice, said mechanism comprising a crank operatively connected to theturret for rotating the same, a reciprocating motor operativelyconnected to the crank, and means for locking the crank on dead centerat the end of each stroke of said motor, said locking means comprising areciprocating pneumatic motor connected to the crank and having acentering chamber under constant pneumatic pressure to yieldingiy holdthe crank on dead center and having advance and return chambers, andvalve means for alternately directing pneumatic pressure fluid to andexhausting pressure fluid from respective advance and return chambers tomove the crank off dead center.

11. An indexing mechanism for a rotatable turret adapted to selectivelyregister Work pieces carried thereby with a working element of a powerdevice, said mechanism comprising a crank operatively connected to theturret for rotating the same, a reciprocating motor operativelyconnected to the crank, and means for locking the crank on dead centerat the end of each stroke of said motor, said locking means comprising areciprocating motor approximately perpendicular to the first-mentionedmotor and operatively connected to the crank, said second-mentionedmotor having means for yieldingly holding the crank on dead center andhaving other means for moving the crank past dead center at the end ofeach stroke of the first-mentioned motor.

ROBERT K. SEDGWICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

